November has been a month just full of books I’ve been trying to catch up on my Goodreads reading goal after barely reading at all during the first 9 months of the year. My goal is very small this year – only 30 books! However, I only read about 8 books by the time our wedding rolled around, so to say I’m trying to catch up is a slight understatement. 😉 Anyways, enough of my chatter. I’ve found some great books this month and I can’t wait to share them with you… here they are!

Books I Read in November 2017

Rebekah: A Novel (Wives of the Patriarchs) by Jill Eileen Smith

My new Grandmom told me about this book (because ahem, the title is the same as my name!). So one day when I opened our front door I found it in a bag sitting on our porch. Books make such wonderful surprises don’t they? Thanks, Grandmom 🙂

This really was a sweet story – I really appreciated the fact that the author didn’t take too many liberties and didn’t stray too far away from the biblical account. Of course, there were some things that were different, and probably did not happen. However, I could definitely imagine how some of the characters could have felt the emotions the author suggested. Even though this wasn’t a “gripping” book, I did find it very interesting and I enjoyed reading it!

Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness by Donna Smallin

Despite the cheesy title, this was a nice little book full of tips for cleaning and organizing. I’ve been gobbling up as much homemaking information as I can – because I need it and know is the time for me to learn. I really appreciated that this book is nice and short, yet still helpful. During my day her tips on oragnization often come to mind while I’m working in the kitchen or going about my daily tasks. Definitely a helpful little book that was worth the read.

The Complete Book of Clean by Toni Hammersly

Oh my goodness. Love this book! I read Toni’s first book The Complete Guide to Home Organization early last year and loved it. So when I found this one sitting on the “new books” shelf at the library I couldn’t help but bring it home! This one is just as good (even though I don’t find cleaning quite as exciting as organizing 😉 ) Inside this book great ideas and beautifully clear photos abound. The cleaning recipes she includes are so simple (I’ve already made two!) and I’ve started implementing some of her cleaning tips into my daily household cleaning. I hope to someday add both of her books to my personal library.

Fix-It and Forget-It New Cookbook by Phyliss Good

Okay, so I am a HUGE fan of the crock pot. About half of all our meals are made in the crock pot! Honestly, even though I love the crock pot, I never really liked the fix-it and forget-it cookbooks (mainly because there aren’t any pictures!). But I found this one and brought it home on a whim. It just so happens that this is now my new favorite cookbook! I’ve already made several new recipes from this book and I’ve found myself paging through it many, many times. The recipes are organized in categories and the pictures accompanying the recipes just look amazing! (In case you haven’t noticed, I love books with great pictures!) Definitely a winning cookbook for me 🙂

Women Living Well by Courtney Joseph

This was a very spiritually encouraging book. Courtney Joseph is the creator of womenlivingwell.org a well known Bible study website. In the book she talked about various areas of a woman’s life – walk with God, marriage, motherhood, homeschooling, and homemaking. I learned a lot from this book and what she had to say was very encouraging and uplifting. However, I do not agree with all of her standards and wish she would use the King James Version of the Bible. It’s not a deep read, but it was very good overall.

A Flight of Arrows, a Novel (The Pathfinders) by Lori Benton

I was not planning to read this book… but I managed to get a copy and had to read it. I read the first book The Wood’s Edge last year and enjoyed it quite a bit. Because the book ended in a suspenseful way, it wasn’t too hard to jump right into this one. Let me just say, this one was even better than the first! Full of suspense and action. I also really liked how the theme of forgiveness was woven throughout the entire story. This book wasn’t just entertaining, it also taught a biblical lesson. The characters were also fabulous and the story was extremely well written!

That’s about all for this month. Right now I am in the beginning chapters of Damascus Countdown (the last book in the Twelfth Imam series) and I am enjoying two Christmas books: Country Living Christmas Joys and Twelve Days of Christmas with Six Sister’s Stuff. I am all excited about Christmas… are you? 🙂

P.S. I typically spend part of my mornings reading a little bit, and then I try to make it my policy not to read until all my household chores are complete. My husband and I also like to read together in the evenings! So, I promise I don’t spend all my days and hours with my nose in a book! 😉

How About You?

• What have you been reading this month?
• Have you read any of the books on my list?